By DIRK J. STEVENSON
Georgians are fascinated by turtles. And they should be. The southeastern U.S. is noted for its turtle diversity, and the Peach State is home to over 25 species. Most of our native turtles are denizens of freshwater wetlands, from swampy ponds to mountain bogs. Yet our streams and rivers also host turtles specific to flowing waterways.
Among these are the singular alligator snapping turtles.
Two species of alligator snapping turtles occur in Georgia. The Suwannee alligator snapper (Macrochelys suwanniensis) is endemic to the Suwannee River drainage and found in the Okefenokee Swamp and major tributaries of the Suwannee watershed – the Withlacoochee, Little and Alapaha River systems. Farther west, the alligator snapping turtle (Macrochelys temminckii) inhabits the Ochlockonee, Flint and Chattahoochee River drainages and their sizeable tributaries.
These prehistoric-appearing reptiles are among the largest freshwater turtles on Earth, with males reaching 80 to more than 120 pounds. Alligator snappers also are the only turtles in the world that have an oral predatory lure – a red, wiggler-like structure on the floor of the mouth that they can wiggle to entice fish close to their open jaws (watch).
Suwannee alligator snapper showing its oral predatory lure (Daniel Sollenberger/GaDNR)
And, yes, those massive muscular heads pack a punch. A lab test recorded one Florida turtle with a bite force of 1,150 pounds per square inch. That’s on par with a polar bear. The bite can pulverize fish, smaller turtles, snakes and amphibians.
Snappers love carrion, too, and, paradoxically for such ferocious-looking beasts, they commonly consume small mussels and fruits and nuts such as persimmons, wild grapes, acorns and water tupelo drupes that drop from floodplain forest trees. Thus, the nickname “river bear.”
PROTECTED BUT SLOW TO RECOVER
Both alligator snapper species are imperiled and protected in Georgia. The Suwannee snapper was listed as threatened under the federal Endangered Species Act in 2024, and a recent status review of its relative, the alligator snapping turtle, determined that listing for that species is also warranted. Each is also state-listed by Georgia and categorized as species of greatest conservation need in Georgia’s State Wildlife Action Plan.
During the 1960s and ’70s, adult alligator snapping turtles in the Flint River were commercially trapped by the tens of thousands for the turtle soup market. The overharvest caused dramatic population declines. Surveys on the Flint in 2014 and 2015 – some 22 years after trapping was outlawed – showed that the population still hadn’t recovered.
Despite living for decades, turtles have a relatively low chance of surviving to sexual maturity. As is the case for many imperiled turtles, and as shown on the Flint, an unnatural death rate of adult female alligator snappers carries severe consequences for the long-term survival of local populations.
WHEN FISHING IN SOUTH GEORGIA
If you have cast many hooks into slow-moving south Georgia waters, you know that strange creatures sometimes bite your bait. Everything from American eels to primeval bowfin and gar (and don’t forget those long-necked flapjack impersonators, the softshell turtles) may investigate your offering, especially if its live or fresh dead bait. Rod and reel anglers who target catfish after dark sometimes hook alligator snapping turtles. Although less common, daytime anglers also encounter them.
Sometimes, fishing activities can pose a threat to alligator snappers. Turtles can swallow hooks or drown when hooked or entangled by trot and limb lines, as well as jugs. (Trot lines are multiple hooks strung across a stream; limb lines – also called set hooks – and jugs have single hooks and are either hung from branches over the water or attached to floating jugs.) Alligator snappers have also died when clumps of monofilament line clogged their intestinal tracts.
If you hook a gator snapper, you may be able to safely remove the hook using extra-long fishing pliers. If not, carefully cut the line as close to the hook as possible. Also follow all regulations and ethical practices when using trotlines, limb lines and jugs.
Hoop-net trap set in the Little River, a Suwannee River tributary (Dirk J. Stevenson)
GOOD NEWS FOR SUWANNEES
A recently completed study of Suwannee alligator snapping turtles in a south Georgia tributary of the Suwannee River yielded some fantastic news.
Using baited hoop-net traps, researchers captured and marked over 100 snappers during the three-year project, even recapturing 29 during one subsequent survey (“Where monster snappers dwell,” Georgia Wild enewsletter, September 2018). A capture-recapture model estimated a population density of about 13 turtles per kilometer (or .6 mile) of river and high survival rates for adult males and females. As significant, large numbers of subadult turtles were documented.
The large number of juvenile and subadult Suwannee gator snappers points to successful recruitment over the last 20 years in these waters. But continued vigilance and monitoring is needed.
Of course, you should count yourself very fortunate if you ever encounter an alligator snapper in the wild. You can spend a lot of time on a section of river where they are common and never see one. These impressive and interesting turtles, the primary predators of Southeastern river ecosystems, are extremely secretive. And essentially harmless to humans.
Dirk J. Stevenson is a naturalist and owner of Altamaha Environmental Consulting.